First Methodist Church of Nacogdoches

Magnolia Blossom

Mom's magnolia tree actually still had a few blooms and several buds in early July.  There were gone by the time I left at the end of the month.

Stockman Community Church

Stockman Community, Shelby County, Texas

A sleepy little community in Deep East Texas

Vacation Photos

If you're interested in seeing my picture-a-day vacation photos, PLEASE VISIT MY 365 PROJECT BLOG.  I completed the 365 photos on July 23 and I am posting them in chronological order at that site.

Arizona's Badlands

I learned this trick from my daughter ~ sit near the wing of the aircraft and concentrate your photos on the landscape or the clouds. 

In the US the "Badlands" generally refer to South Dakota but as I was traveling from Phoenix and flying over New Mexico this area said "badlands" to me.  I tried to imagine what it would be like to traverse this land in a covered wagon or on horseback or even on foot, as many people did.  Many did not survive but those who did conquered the West!  If you look closely the S-shaped curve shows a moving train, the transportation mode that connected east to west in this great expansive country we call the USA.

I've been away for the past three-plus weeks.  I hope to get caught up with everyone's blogs within the next few days.

Going Home

My vacation this year has been moved up a few weeks due to some health issues my mom has been having.  So about this time tomorrow I'll be heading up this road ...

and when I get to the top of the hill I will be there.

I will have limited access to a computer and the Internet while I'm away but there will be fun things in store when I return.  I'll look forward to catching up with all my bloggie friends toward the end of the month.

The Old Movie Theater

Garrison, Nacogdoches County, Texas

I grew up in a little town of about 1,500 people in the 1950s.  The 2000 census listed its population as 844.  One of these two buildings on the town square (which really isn't a square because it only has three sides) was the movie theater where we watched The Lone Ranger, Sky King, Ma and Pa Kettle, The Little Rascals, The Three Stooges, Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Hopalong Cassidy, Ava Gardner in Mogambo, Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Laurel and Hardy, Tyrone Power, Stewart Granger, Joseph Cotton, and lots and lots of Tom and Jerry and Woody Woodpecker cartoons.  I say it's the blue building but my friend thinks it's the brown one.  I think I win because I believe those two windows on either side of the door aren't really windows but are glass-covered boxes which held the movie posters.  But I just may be having selective memory.  There was a balcony but we never went up there because these were the days of segregation and people of color had to sit there.  They were not allowed to sit in the downstairs portion.  They went to a separate school.  Their fathers were laborers, their mothers were maids.  Many of them never finished high school, much less went on to college.  We silly little privileged white kids (although my family was not very affluent, we had a certain privileges because of our race) didn't know any of them.  I'm glad those days have changed.  Although our society has changed, and thank God for that, we still have many prejudices to overcome.  Someday, but probably not in my lifetime, my hope is that people everywhere will accept their neighbors for the richness they bring to our lives rather than their color or their religion or their nationality or their political beliefs.  Tomorrow we celebrate our independence day and in addition to a day of celebration, it should be a day of reflection to ponder what independence really means.

East Texas Rainbow

This is my mom's back yard which looks out on her pasture and her creek (which is surrounded by all those trees), and it is of course topped with that beautiful Texas sky which has no pollution and in which you can see a bejillion stars every night.  The pink flowers at the upper right are from a crepe myrtle tree.  I'll be going there soon and will show you more of it then.

8/100 Strangers - Lisa

Lisa is one of the street people you might encounter near the grounds of the Arizona State Capitol.  She actually encountered me as I returned to my car after a tour of an historic home in the area.  She said, "Whatcha doin'?  Just takin' a buncha pitchers?"  I replied, "Sure.  You want me to take your picture?"  She stood very straight with her shoulders back and posed.  When I showed her the screen she asked if I'd take another one.  I did and asked her if she liked that one any better.  She told me she'd like to take my camera and take a picture of her sister.  I had to politely decline, and as I turned to go to my car, she waved and said, "God bless you."

And God bless you, Lisa.

P.S.  I received an e-mail this week from the wife of Guy - Stranger 5/100 (posted here on June 19) - who said she believed that was the best picture that had ever been taken of him and that it captured his personality completely.  My goodness!  I walked around with my peacock feathers all fluffed for several days!